MEET OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Seashore Day Camp and School is owned and operated by the Villapiano family.
During the school year, our faculty consists of 65 teachers, specialty instructors, coaches and bus drivers. In the summer, we employ approximately 130 counselors.
At least 70 percent of our staff started out here as campers, grew up in the program and return year after year to share their experiences with today’s children. To these devoted staff members, Seashore is not just a job. It is a way of life. They help young people discover new talents, motivate them to excel, fill them with confidence, encourage curiosity, help them master new skills and create a warm, nurturing, happy environment where lasting friendships form and there is a sense of belonging.
The following short bios will introduce you to our management team and give you some background on our credentials.
JOHN VILLAPIANO
Chief Operating Officer and Director
John Villapiano is the director of both the camp and school. Starting out at Seashore as a camper, Coach John as he likes to be known, has been involved with the program most of his life. Unlike many traditional headmasters, along with running the organization, he works directly with the children – teaching them to swim and sometimes even driving them to and from school and camp. John graduated from Bowling Green University with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. Prior to serving as director of Seashore, he played professional football for the World Football League and was later inducted into the Jersey Shore Sports Hall of Fame. John has also held many elected local, county and state posts, including State Assemblyman for the 11th district, where he was a strong advocate for children's rights. In addition, he is a long-time supporter of causes that benefit young people, such as the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Organization. These days, after school and camp hours, John referees football, teaches swimming, and maintains his involvement in the community by serving in various capacities in Ocean Township and Long Branch.
AUGUSTUS (GUS) VILLAPIANO, JR.
Vice President of Grounds and Operations
Gus also started out at Seashore as a camper and has been involved with the program ever since. He is responsible for managing the grounds, overseeing construction of pools, educational wings and classrooms, and keeping the three different campuses running smoothly. In addition to his work at Seashore, Gus served as a fireman for the City of Asbury Park and was decorated for 25 years of service.
CAROLEE VILLAPIANO
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Like her brothers, Carolee started at Seashore as a camper and has spent more than 30 years giving young people the kind of summers she had as a child. She taught in the Long Branch School System and recently retired after 30 years of service. Currently, Carolee is director of scheduling and Chief Financial Officer for the camp, and supervisor of the Pre-Kindergarten Campus during the school year. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Physical Education from Bowling Green University.
CHARLOTTE SCHATZOW
Principal, Grades K-8
Charlotte joined the Seashore faculty in 1984. After teaching kindergarten and first grade, she helped develop a curriculum to expand the school to the fourth grade and later to eighth grade. As Principal, she is responsible for programming, administration and testing at the elementary and intermediate school level to ensure students receive a solid educational foundation and have the skills to gain acceptance to the high school of their choice when they graduate. Before Seashore, she worked in the New York Public School System. Charlotte holds a Masters Degree in Education from New York University.
NOREEN CULLOO
Office Manager
Noreen has been running our Main Office since 1979. Responsible for keeping things running smoothly between our three campuses, her job is busy, diversified and challenging. Over the years, she has registered thousands of students and campers, scheduled hundreds of classes, handled the billing, and processed dozens of daily requests from parents of students and campers, as well as from prospective families who want information about Seashore. Noreen holds an Associates Degree in Business Administration from Brookdale Community College.
DAWN LEHMAN
Director Of Preschool
Along with supervising the Preschool Campus, Dawn teaches our Monday to Friday full-day class. Since joining Seashore 19 years ago, she has given hundreds of children an exceptional introduction to school. Over the years, she has earned a reputation for making learning fun, helping our youngest students excel academically, physically and socially and creating a warm, nurturing environment where they can’t wait to come each day.
LOU CONNER
Preschool Physical Education & Swimming Coordinator
For the past 25 years, Lou has been in charge of the physical education and swimming program at Seashore's Preschool Campus, has been the head counselor for eight and nine year-old boys at summer camp and has coordinated birthday parties. He also helped develop a program called Coach Lou's 10 Days of Excitement, which provides a full schedule of exciting, action-packed activities during the weeks between school and camp. Known throughout the Jersey Shore as "Coach Lou," he has taught countless children how to swim, given them their introduction to sports and made their birthdays fun. In addition, he currently coaches our varsity basketball team.
JOSH DAVIDOW
Assistant Director of Men’s Camp Operations
One of our most well liked staff members is Coach Josh. A vice principal in Florida and administration candidate at Florida State University, Josh attended Seashore as a child and comes back every summer to help make one day better than the next. From greeting campers with a smile as they get off the bus in the morning to supervising their activities and taking pictures you can find on www.seashorekids.com, Josh gets involved in every aspect of the boy’s program. He has an easiness about him that makes it look effortless to keep things running smoothly, while giving children a great time and ensuring they are where they should be at all times. This rare combination of skills has earned him the respect and admiration from not only young people, but the entire staff.
DARA VAN PELT
Director of Women’s Camp Operations
Dara was a Seashore camper, CIT and junior counselor before being promoted two years ago to director of women’s operations. In this position, she is responsible for scheduling activities, making sure groups get to the right destinations and have fun. During the school year, she is also an administrator at Raritan High School. Dara, graduated from Manasquan High School, where she was an All Shore Athlete in basketball. She holds a Masters Degree from Monmouth University.
JEFF REISLER
Co-Aquatics Director
Another favorite is Coach Jeff, a Seashore camper who went on to become a counselor, head counselor of the Super Seniors and the head of boys program, before being named Co-Aquatics Director. As a camper, Jeff was captain of Seashore’s first swim team and to date still holds swim records. During the year, he is a fifth grade teacher at Ocean Township Intermediate School, where he has earned a reputation for being such an exceptional instructor that everyone wants to be in his class. Jeff holds a Masters Degree in Education from Monmouth University.
DAVE DAHROUGE
Co-Aquatics Director
Dave, one of the original owners of Seashore Preschool (he sold his shares to current director John Villapiano), has been on staff for 52 years. He was named Camp Aquatics director in 1967 and has spent the last 40 years teaching thousands of children how to swim. His technique has helped produce some of the strongest swimmers at the Jersey Shore – many who have become captains of their high school and college swim teams. Dave was also Athletics Director at Ocean Township High School. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Physical Therapy from Notre Dame.
VIVIAN TOMAINE PENTA
Director of The Counselor-In-Training (CIT)
Program & Winter Aquatics Director
Vivian, who has been at Seashore for 12 years, runs the CIT program in the summer and is the aquatics director responsible for swim instruction during the school year. She is also the camp swim team representative to the North Shore League. Previously, she was a coach at Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School, where she led teams to three state championship victories. Throughout her career, she has taught boys and girls to become top swimmers. She has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology from Northeastern University.
TOM MATTHEWS
Head Physical Education Director
Coach Tom has worked for Seashore for the last 15 years, where he is responsible for physical education at the Pre-Kindergarten to the eighth grade level, head soccer coach and one of the lead instructors in the pool. Coach Tom helps boys and girls develop the eye-hand coordination, dexterity and skills needed to become top athletes and strong swimmers. He also teaches them the skills need to compete in interscholastic sports, as well as how to be team players who excel on and off the field.
ART KANEY (THE DOODLE DUDE)
Director of Animation & Birthday Parties
When Art known as "The Doodle Dude" joined our staff in 1995, he forever changed the way Seashore looked at teaching drawing. Using his innovative, easy technique, even the youngest students and campers learn to create their own cartoons. Over the years, he has taken the process a step further by introducing computer animation and Clay & Play, which gives children a chance to take cartoons off the page with action figures and movable story lines. In addition to teaching cartooning and animation, The Dude coordinates and runs Seashore birthday parties, making sure boys and girls have more fun than they can possibly imagine.
BONNIE SKOWRONSKI
Head Of Seashore Transportation
Bonnie is responsible for maintaining Seashore’s fleet of 42 buses, making sure all routes are covered and ensuring that as many as 300 children a day arrive on time at the proper destinations. She has been with us for 20 years and makes sure that children are as happy on the buses as they are in the classrooms.
KRISTIN HOWE AND GAYE VILLAPIANO
Kid Control
It takes two people to ensure all the children in our school and camp are accounted for on a daily basis and that everyone is where they are supposed to be at all times. Gaye who has been with us 10 years is responsible for 345 Second Avenue and Kristin who has been at Seashore for 15 years is responsible for 404 and 410 Broadway campuses. They field hundreds of phone calls from parents each week and make sure all concerns are handled quickly, efficiently and with a smile. Their effort takes an incredible amount of coordination and communication that is essential to our operation.
SHARON METZ
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Sharon Metz is responsible for marketing and public relations, including advertising, brochures, direct mail, newsletters and the www.seashorecampandschool.com web site. She also researches and develops innovative special events and programs that give students and campers a chance to try new things they would probably not experience elsewhere. Sharon has won many writing awards and holds a Bachelors Degree in English from Montclair State University.
SCHOOL STAFF ASSIGNMENTS 2006-07
| Preschool | |
|---|---|
| Dawn Lehmann- Curriculum and Building Supervisor | M-F full day |
| Tracy Gallo | M-W-F half day |
| Tina Martelloni | M-W-F half day |
| Mary Alyce Turner | M-W-F half day |
| Nancy Semon | T-W-R half day |
| Katie Brown | M-F full day |
| Diana D’Ambrosi | M-F full day |
| Betty Frankel | Primary Swim Instruction |
| Pearl Proctor Bottoms | Science |
| Sheila Mandel | Music |
| Coach Lou Connor | Physical Education |
| Pre-Kindergarten | |
|---|---|
| Carolee Villapiano | Building Supervisor |
| Sharon Pacera | M-F half day |
| Cathy Moore | M-F half day |
| Kim Luce | M-F full day |
| Allison Manning | M-F full day |
| Linda Jones | M-F full day |
| Carol Barham | M-F full day |
| Ariel Ostrowsky | M-F full day |
| Coach Tom Matthews | Lead Swim Instructor |
| Erica Schneider | Music |
| Vivian Tomaine Penta | Physical Education |
| John Gordon | Science |
Principal - K through 8 - Charlotte Schatzow
| Full Day Kindergarten | |
|---|---|
| Jennifer Schnoor | M-F full day |
| Janine Cole | M-F full day |
| Andrea Villapiano | M-F full day |
| First Grade |
|---|
| Renee Harrison |
| Ken Schroeder |
| Second Grade |
|---|
| Valerie Gambardella |
| Third Grade |
|---|
| Lon Gabel |
| Forth Grade |
|---|
| Mary Nugent |
| Rob Schnoor |
| Fifth Grade & Social Studies & History |
|---|
| Rob Jorgensen |
| Sixth Grade & Science |
|---|
| Ellen Scrivani |
| Seventh Grade & Mathematics |
|---|
| Sherry Healy |
| Eighth Grade |
|---|
| Susan Berner |
Technology Director - Vince Luce
Spanish - Eileen Hulbert
Animation - Art Kaney (The Dude)
Art - Sharon Pacera
ADMINISTRATION
John Villapiano - Chief Operating Officer and Director
Augustus (Gus) Villapiano - Vice President of Grounds and Operations
Dawn Lehmann - Curriculum and Campus Supervisor for Preschool
Carolee Villapiano - Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Pre-Kindergarten Campus Supervisor
Charlotte Schatzow - Principal Kindergarten through Eighth Grade
Bonnie Skowronski - Transportation
Vivian Tomaine Penta - Swim Instruction
Coaches Tom Matthews and Lou Connor - Physical Education
Sharon Metz - Marketing & Public Relations
